CIVIL DISCOURSE SERIES

The Civil Discourse Series presents multiple sides of a thought-provoking topic through respectful discussion. For each event, the Museum convenes a panel of experts to represent their perspectives on an issue related to human and civil rights.

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT: BALANCE OF POWER

Wednesday, September 27, at 7 p.m. In person at the Museum | Free

The U.S. Supreme Court represents a key branch of the country's democratic system, holding immense power and responsibility to interpret the Constitution, and protect liberty and civil rights for all Americans. In recent years, Supreme Court decisions have stirred public discourse about its role and influence. Is it wielding its authority in line with its original purpose, and how can it best serve the American people? Legal experts discuss the structure of the Supreme Court, how it has evolved since its formation, and what role it should play in the lives of Americans.

PRESENTED BY:

Special exhibition | On view July 20 - December 31, 2023

Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow explores the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. By 1868, slavery was abolished and all persons born in the United States were citizens and equal before the law, but efforts to create an interracial democracy were contested from the start. A harsh backlash ensued, ushering in the “separate but equal” age of Jim Crow in which a system of secondclass citizenship and racial segregation was put in place across the nation. The exhibition takes visitors from the Civil War to the end of World War I and examines how African Americans advocated for their rights. Art, artifacts, photographs, and media illustrate these transformative decades in American history.

Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow concludes with an exploration of Black military service during World War I and the struggle for equality in the decades to follow. The passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, the most significant civil rights bills since Reconstruction, signaled the end of legalized Jim Crow, though the struggle for full citizenship continued.

This exhibition has been organized by the New-York Historical Society.

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